"We have formally accepted the application from a foodstuff company," said Huang He, secretary-general of the Beijing Office of the centre.
"It is the first case since the centre made its debut on January 29 in New York."
The Yantai-based company claims its US partner delayed payment in a trade transaction, according to a manager from the company.
No more details, such as the name of the US company, are available for the sake of "business confidentiality."
The China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the US Centre for Public Resources (CPR) Institute for Dispute Resolution signed an agreement in January after about six months of negotiations and created the new centre, which has offices in both Beijing and New York.
The CPR Institute is a non-profit alliance including law firms, public institutions and corporations, such as General Motors Corp, US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc and Intel Corp.
The centre offers Chinese and US companies a relatively speedier and more inexpensive alternative to both domestic court system and binding arbitration to resolve business disputes, Huang said.
"Usually, mediation is the first option for companies to solve business disputes," said Huang, who is also director of CCPIT's Legal Affairs Department.
"Generally speaking, mediation is a less expensive and time-saving process, which can sometimes settle disputes in a few days. This compares to an often year-long trial and arbitration process."
His idea is echoed by the foodstuff company.
"Mediation is quick and much cheaper. That is why we resort to this way," the manager said on condition of anonymity.
"And we believe in the centre's professionalism and efficiency since it is based on China-US co-operation," he added.
The CCPIT and CPR Institute both had separate mediation resources before they signed on to form the new joint centre.
The CCPIT accepted about 500 mediation applications in 2003 through its nationwide mediation grid.
"Joining hands with the CPR Institute will enhance the reliability and impartiality of the new centre," Huang said.
In addition, the flexibility and relative informality that the new centre offers will be a welcome alternative to the traditional arbitration and legal process, he said.
Huang believes the number of business disputes between Chinese and US companies will "surely" increase in the coming years due to China's World Trade Organization entry.
Increasing trade volume and frequent economic exchanges between China and the US will give rise to business disputes.
"The bigger the trade volume turns up, the more disputes come out. It is quite natural," Huang said.
The China-US trade volume hit US$126.3 billion last year, up 30 per cent over the previous year.
In addition, more Chinese players are expected to enter into international trade business since China lowered its threshold in granting foreign trade rights to firms. This policy-loosening is also likely to lead to a rising number of trade and commercial disputes, Huang pointed out.
The CCPIT and the CPR Institute will select and train a total of 48 individuals by the end of 2004 to serve as the centre's first cadre of professional mediators.
(China Daily)
（信息来源：A02MOFTEC英文版子站）
